Hello Adrian from UK - can you tell me something? I've heard that in Australia there are restrictions on use of classic bikes, like need to keep a log for every trip and limited number of days riding in any one year. Is that correct and can you add a few details? Like is it even true? And if so is it for all Oz or only certain states? Thanks
Hi there - well you've sort of heard correctly. Here in Oz the vehicle registration (road fund licence) is slightly different than the UK. The thing you're talking about is a special rego for classic or vintage bikes. This allows for a bike to be registered for use on a certain number of days in any rego period - which in a 90 day period I think is 25 days. The log book is for recording the time and days the bike gets used. The idea is that if the police stop a biker for any reason they can make sure that he's keeping an accurate record of the rides.
Bike insurance companies offer similar deals. It's possible to insure the bike fully for weekend rides only - midnight Friday to midnight Sunday. When it's not being ridden the insurance will still cover the bike for theft and maybe a bit more. This can save the owner a heap of money if the bike is only ridden occasionally. My bike has seasonal rego. That means that I won't be "fined" if I don't register the bike all year. I tend to keep it off the road during the winter months as my health prevents me from riding in the colder weather. Here tho, I get 9 months of good riding weather in every year.
The down side is that in most states the open road speed limit is restricted to about 100 to 110 kph (60 mph or so) - the Northern territories are more sensible with a top speed of 140 kph. The level of police monitoring of the roads for speeding all around Oz is borderline paranoid.
Overall it's one of the best countries in the world for short and especially long distance riding. I've ridden thru the centre from Darwin to Adelaide - when I was younger - and I'm planning another long trip for when I'm not so ill.
Hope that was interesting for you - just a tad more than you asked
8-)